1. 1.2 The Formation of Government

2. Government Systems
Federal—divides power between the national & state government—each has sovereignty in some areas.
US did this after the 13 colonies became states-until then we were a confederacy—loose union of independent states
EX: Canada, Switzerland, Mexico, Australia, India, & Russia
Unitary—key powers given to central government then that unit can then create state, or local governments.
May limit sovereignty
EX: Great Britain, Italy & France

3. Constitutions & Government
Written vs. Unwritten
A plan that provides rules for government.
Purposes are:
Sets ideals people believe in
Establishes structure of government
Provides supreme law of land
Provides rules that shape the actions of the government
US—oldest written 1787
France, Kenya, Italy, India
Unwritten
Britain—based on precedent

4. Constitutional Government
Government where constitution has authority to place clearly recognized limits on the powers of those who govern
Not People’s Republic of China—few limits on governments power even though they have a Constitution or former Soviet Union

5. Constitutions are Incomplete Guides
Impossible to include everything
FDR—President 4X—resulted in the 22nd Amendment—only allowed to serve 2 terms
Doesn’t always reflect actual government practice
People’s Republic of China says they have all kinds of rights but in reality or practice the people have few rights
Got better in 1980’s—then in 1989 the democracy movement was over—state and pro democracy people still argue

6. Preamble A statement of goals and purposes of government
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

7. Framework for Government
Plan for government
In a federal state like we have in the US the Constitution describes relationship between state & federal government
Main body divided into articles or sections
US 7 Articles=22 sections
French 89 articles
Indian 100’s of articles (longest in the world)

8. Highest Law Constitution is the supreme law of the land
Authority usually comes from elected
Constitutional law studies questions about interpreting the Constitution
EX: how far government power extends

9. Politics and Government
Politics—the effort to control or influence policies of government
People participate because government has the potential to influence their lives—everyone wants something different from the government
Conflicts are managed through politics—working together to come up with compromises that everyone can accept
Special interests—some think the general welfare of the people is compromised by these people

10. Governing in a Complex World
Hard to define boundaries of government because of the inequalities of countries
Industrialized nations—US, Japan, Canada, France—have large industries, adv. technology, comfortable way of life
Developing nations—just starting to develop industrially; poor, political turmoil, starvation, disease are common
In between are newly industrialized nations like Mexico, S. Korea, Kenya

11. International Organizations
Grouped together because the operate beyond national boundaries
Types are
National liberation organizations
Aim to establish an independent state for a particular ethnic or religious group.
IRA—make Ireland & N Ireland one country under one gov’t.
PLO wants to establish a Palestine state in Middle East

12. International Organizations con’t
Terrorist organizations
Al-Qaeda (mostly Islamic radicals) staged the 9/11 attacks on US
Multinational organizations
Huge companies with office all over the world—influence politics because of all the $$$ they generate
EX: GM, Nabisco, AT&T

13. International Organizations con’t
Organizations of states of the world
Members are other nations—build coalitions and partnerships with other nations
WTO—they 150 nations that negotiate trade matters
UN—members discuss sticky issues and provide disaster relief, and peacekeeping functions

14. International Organizations con’t
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
Private groups set these up to achieve a goal that affects multiple nations
Greenpeace—wants to change policies that deal with the environment
Doctors without Borders—provide medical care and service to those suffering from civil war, disease and natural disasters